auala versus the state

8/8/2019 Auala versus The State

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REPORTABLE

CASE NO.: SA 42/2008

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NAMIBIA

In the matter between:

JAMES VILHO AUALA APPELLANT

and

THE STATE RESPONDENT

Coram: Maritz JA, Strydom, AJA et Mtambanengwe, AJA

Heard on: 3 November 2009

Delivered on: 27 April 2010

APPEAL JUDGMENT

MTAMBANENGWE, AJA:

[1] This appeal is against appellants conviction in the High Court (Liebenberg AJ)

on 2 June 2008 of theft of unpolished diamonds, robbery and escaping before being

locked up on arrest. The charges he faced on trial were originally the following: 1) theft

of unpolished diamonds in contravention of section 74 of Act 13 of 1999; alternatively,


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possession of unpolished diamond in contravention of section 30(11) of Act 13 of 1999;

2) robbery; 3) malicious damage to property; and 4) escaping before being locked up in

contravention of section 51(1) of Act 51 of 1977.

[2] The appellant pleaded guilty to the charge of escaping but not guilty to all other

charges. He was acquitted on the alternative charge to count 1 and on the charge of

malicious damage to property.

[3] On the first count the appellant was sentenced to pay a fine of N$50 000 or 3

years imprisonment plus 5 years imprisonment; on the robbery count he was sentenced

to 2 years imprisonment and on count 4 to 1 year imprisonment. The court ordered in

terms of section 280(2) of Act 51 of 1977 that half of the sentence on count 2 and the

whole of the sentence on count 4 should run concurrently with the sentence on count 1.

[4] Appellants application for leave to appeal against conviction and sentence on

counts 1 and 2 was refused by the High Court but his petition to the Supreme Court was

granted in respect of the conviction and the sentence imposed on count 1.

[5] In the trial the appellant exercised his right to remain silent and thus did not

testify.

[6] The story behind the conviction of the appellant was, briefly, the following. The

appellant was employed at Oranjemund by Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd


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(Namdeb) as a diesel mechanic. He worked inside the Namdeb Mining Licence Area.

Workers returning from the mining area can only exit through a security check point. On

18 January 2005 he proceeded through the check point and there he was arrested.What happened to cause the arrest of the appellant is briefly described in the States

summary of the case and some of the events will be highlighted later in this judgment.

The layout of the security system and route an employee would follow via the security

check point on leaving the mining area are described in the judgment of the Court a quo

and it is, therefore, not necessary to repeat these aspects in this judgment.

[7] Evidence was led by the State that a person considered for employment with

Namdeb has to attend an induction course before he signs his contract of employment.

The Court a quo summarised the evidence in this regard as follows, namely that the

induction course:

inter alia , includes a pep talk on the security policy of the mine, and which is explained

to each potential employee. Once he or she understands its content, then a declaration

to that effect must be signed. Non-compliance with the security policy is regarded to be

in contravention of the Diamond Act. The security policy also accords with Namdebs

security plan, which was accepted by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Once a person is offered employment, he will be handed an employee card, reflecting

the personal particulars of the employee. If that employee is expected to enter the

mining area, he will be issued with a key card, which grants him access to that area.

Upon exiting the mine, the person, when reaching the card reading cubicle, will scan his

employee card and register his exit in that manner.


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Furthermore, at the entrance of the exit passage, there are notice boards, reminding the

worker about security aspects and in particular, not change their positions on the line as

they move towards the x-ray area.

[9] As regards the accused, after completing the induction course, he signed the

declaration to that effect (Exhibit F) on 22.01.98 and because he had to work in the

mining area, he was also issued with a key card. I pause here to say that the (new) mine

policy (Exhibit E) issued on 01.03.04, is the updated version of the one the accused

signed in 1998. This was necessary after the enactment of the Diamond Act, No 13 of

1999. The wording and layout of the (new) policy was unchanged from the one signed

by the accused.

[8] The Judge a quo also referred to an incident on 10 th January 2005 which was

observed on video as testified to by Karel du Toit, one of Namdebs security officers and

which created suspicion on the part of the investigation team leading them, thereafter,

to keep surveillance on appellants movements during the screening process. On that

date the appellant acted more or less in the same manner he did on 18 January when

he entered the x-ray room. The appellants movements as he exited the mining area on

the latter date were also recorded on video. Video recordings of both incidents were

handed in as exhibits. It is evident from those recordings that on 10 January the

appellant was rehearsing a plan whereby he could pass through the security system

with diamonds he would remove from the mining area without being detected.

[9] After arrest, appellants sense of guilt was illustrated by his attempt to rescue the

object he was caught trying to smuggle out before it was opened, which was done

subsequently in his presence and found to contain the diamonds he was charged with


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stealing. What transpired in that attempt and how appellant was rearrested after trying

to escape was fully testified to without appellant disputing the testimony of those

members of the investigating team who witnessed the event. The only thing appellantdisputed was that he knew what the object he carried contained. This was in his plea

explanation on count 1, then explained by counsel thus:

The accused person denies that the plastic object he carried, contained 28 unpolished

diamonds with a mass of 61.91 carats and valued at N$438,220.92. At the time he was

found with the object, since he had no knowledge of the contents of the object he was

carrying. ( sic )

The object that appellant (under observation) had stuck on the wall of the x-ray room

and removed, as he left the x-ray cubicle, he had hidden between his legs; it was

observed to fall therefrom when accused spread his legs while he was being escorted to

be searched after he was stopped outside; this action of appellant, described by Karel

du Toit, was also undisputed evidence of appellants sense of guilt.

[10] Karel du Toit is one of Namdebs security officers working in its Investigation

Section. Detective Inspector Maria Louw is a member of the Namibian Police. A report

was made to her after the appellant had been seen to drop the object he had in his

possession. Inspector Louw picked up the object and put it in her bag. Before the objectwas opened appellant snatched Inspector Louws bag and escaped from her with it.

After he had been recaptured, the object was opened in his presence and found to

contain the 28 unpolished diamonds he was subsequently charged with stealing.


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Epafras Simon was another security officer of Namdebs Investigating Section who

witnessed the events on 18 January and gave evidence materially identical to that ofdu Toit regarding the observations made on the accused as he went through the

security check-point. So was Andries van Zyl. The court viewed the video footage of all

the events that took place on 18 January 2005.

[11] Mr Sibeya who appeared for the State submitted that the only challenge to the

conviction is whether the State proved that the diamonds in question were the property

of or were in the lawful possession of Karel du Toit and/or Namdeb Corporation (Pty)

Ltd.

Ms Sauls, counsel for the appellant, submitted that appellant should not have been

found guilty as charged:

for the simple reason that the State did not prove the following averments and elements

of the offence under section 74 of the Diamond Act

(i) that Karel du Toit lawfully owned the diamonds or (ii) that Karel du Toit or

Namdeb lawfully possessed the diamonds as there was not sufficient evidence either

direct or circumstantial to prove either of the above averments beyond a reasonable

doubt. In fact there was no evidence at all to prove either of the above elements.

After stating what I have quoted above, and repeating the argument in so many words,

Ms Sauls, however, in conclusion, had to concede:


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83. It can however, not be said that the evidence does not support a conviction on

the alternative to count 1, namely contravention of section 30(1) read with section 30(2)

of the Diamond Act possession of unpolished diamonds.

[12] Therefore, even if this Court were to be persuaded to accept that there was no

evidence led, or circumstantial, to support a conviction on count 1, the end result would

be to substitute his conviction on count 1 for a conviction on the alternative count.

[13] The State maintains, however, that the evidence went further to prove that the

appellant actually stole the said diamonds Mr Sibeya quotes section 74 of the Diamond

Act:

Any person who steals any diamonds the property of or in the lawful possession of

another person shall be guilty of any offence and on conviction be liable to a fine not

exceeding N$1,000,000 or to imprisonment not exceeding twenty years or both such fine

and such imprisonment.

The charge in count 1 reads:

IN THAT on or about 18 January 2005 and at or near Oranjemund in the district of

Oranjemund the accused did unlawfully and intentionally steal 28 unpolished diamonds

with a mass of 61.91 carats and a valued of N$438 220.92, the property of or in the

lawful possession (or control) of Karel L. du Toit and/or Namdeb Diamond Corporation

(Pty) Ltd.

It is true that the statutory provision does not contain the words or control. But Ms

Sauls quotes Hunt: South African Criminal Law and Procedure , 2 nd ed., at 646


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which states that possession in the case at least of physical objects, seems to connote

custody and control even of a temporary nature, in pursuance of a right to hold as

against the alleged thief.

If the learned author is correct in that interpretation of the word possession, as I

respectfully think he is, counsels submission that-

If the State proved neither ownership nor possession, but only proved that the said

diamonds were in the control of the said Karel L. du Toit , it would not have satisfied the

statutory requirements of possession and no offence would have been committed under

section 74

is a non sequitur . Similarly untenable is the submission that the appellant (for the same

reason) should not have been found guilty as charged. I would say, on the basis of

Hunts interpretation, if the diamonds were proved to be in the control of Karel L. du

Toit, possession thereof was ipso facto proved in the circumstances of this case. Karel

L. du Toit and other security officers of Namdeb were employed to guard against theft of

diamonds from Namdeb mining area and the appellant was employed in Namdebs

mining area. There is no suggestion by appellant that he could have obtained the

diamonds he was proved to have been in possession of from anywhere else than that

area. Even if he might have obtained them from a contractor or subcontractor which had

been engaged by Namdeb as part of its extended mining operations for the recovery of

diamonds - as counsel for the appellant speculated in argument - it does not detract

from the fact that they were nevertheless won within the mining area it being the only

area within which Namdeb could have legally contracted others to mine for and recover

diamonds on its behalf under its mining licence. Whether found or recovered by an


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employee, contractor or subcontractor of Namdeb matters not, it is the migration of

diamonds from that area which Namdeb is seeking to control by the implementation of

extensive security measures. These measures include the engagement of securitypersonnel Du Toit being one to control the security checkpoint and ensure that

diamonds won in the mining area are not smuggled out by persons leaving the area.

Appellants conduct, starting from the rehearsal on 10 January of how to avoid

detection, to the repeat of that procedure on 18 January, the hiding of the object (in

which the diamonds were later found) between his legs when he left the x-ray room, and

the foiled attempt to retrieve the object from Detective Inspector Louw after his arrest,

all demonstrate the guilty knowledge that he was stealing the diamonds.

[14] The court a quo dealt with the question of possession or ownership of the

diamonds at paragraph [25] of its judgment, where it said:

What remains to be considered in respect of count 1, is whether the diamonds so

possessed, were stolen and as such the property of or in the lawful possession or

control of Karel L. du Toit and/or Namdeb Diamond Corporation (Pty) Ltd as charged.

The Court pertinently remarked, in passing, that:

at no stage during the trial was the lawful ownership of the diamonds in dispute, andmost probable as a result thereof, no evidence was adduced by the State, showing that

Namdeb Diamond Corporation was indeed the lawful owner of the diamonds or, by

virtue of which licence or on what authority they operate and mine. Had such evidence

been before the court, the issue about ownership of the diamonds found with the

accused would not have arisen. However, I do not believe that the lack of such evidence


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per se closes the door for the State, as circumstantial evidence also requires

consideration.

The court rightly referred to the rule and practice to put the defence case to State

witnesses to ensure that trials are conducted fairly; that witnesses have the opportunity

to answer challenges to their evidence, and parties to the suit know that it may be

necessary to call corroborating or other evidence relevant to the challenge that has

been raised. In this regard the Learned Judge a quo referred to S v Boesak, 2001(1)

SA 912 (CC), where it was said (at par. [27]): a criminal trial is not a game of catch-as-

catch-can. I would remark in passing that although ownership and Namdebs right to

lawful possession of the diamonds in this case was ipso facto put in issue by the

appellants plea of not guilty, the appellants failure to specifically challenge it in cross-

examination or at any other stage of the trial before final argument, may be construed

as an attempt to set up a forensic ambush for the Prosecution. The conduct of an

accuseds defence in this manner, although not impermissible, may have consequences

and, in appropriate circumstances, may give rise to an application by the Prosecution to

reopen the States case to mention but one.

[15] So too, may the appellants decision not to testify have consequences.

What Langa DP said in S v Boesak, supra, at 923E-F equally applies mutatis mutandis,

I think, to the situation in this case:

The fact that an accused person is under no obligation to testify does not mean that

there are no consequences attaching to a decision to remain silent during the trial. If


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there is evidence calling for an answer, and an accuseds person chooses to remain

silent in the face of such evidence, a court may well be entitled to conclude that the

evidence, is sufficient in the absence of an explanation, to prove the guilt of the accused.

Whether such a conclusion is justified will depend on the weight of the evidence.

Langa DP in this connection approved the remark of Madala J in Osman and Another v

Attorney-General-Transvaal, 1998(4) SA 1224 (CC) (1998(2) SACR 493; 1998(11)

BCLR 1362) para [22]:

Our legal system is an adversarial one. Once the prosecution has produced evidence

sufficient to establish a prima facie case, an accused who fails to produce evidence to

rebut that case is at risk. The failure to testify does not relieve the prosecution of its duty

to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. An accused, however, always runs the risk that,

absent any rebuttal, the prosecutors case may be sufficient to prove the elements of the

offence. The fact that an accused had to make such an election is not a breach of the

right to silence. If the right to silence were to be so interpreted, it would destroy the

fundamental nature of our adversarial system of criminal justice.

In S v Katoo, 2005(1) SACR 522 (SCA) Jafta AJA criticised the weight attached by the

trial judge to the defence version which was put to State witnesses under cross-

examination and remarked further:

It was treated as if it were evidence when the trial court considered verdict on themerits. As respondent failed to place any version before the Court by means ofevidence, the Courts verdict should have been based on the evidence led by theprosecution only.

[16] The conviction on count 1 is challenged on the basis that, the State did not

adduce any direct evidence of the ownership or lawful possession (of the diamonds) as


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averred in the charge sheet. That is common cause. The Judge a quo is further

criticised for relying on circumstantial evidence as proof of the two elements of the

charge sheet. In particular the Learned Trial Judge is said to have, in drawinginferences from the circumstantial evidence he considered, fallen into error in that he

overlooked the possibility of other inferences which are equally probable or at least

reasonably possible. Furthermore, the Trial Judge is said not to have adhered to the

cardinal rules of logic stated in R v Blom, 1939 AD 288.

[17] The circumstantial evidence considered by the court a quo and the inferences it

drew therefrom.

The court started by referring to Article 100 of the Constitution of the Republic of

Namibia:

Land, water and natural resources below and above the surface of the land and in the

continental shelf and within the territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone ofNamibia shall belong to the State if they are not otherwise owned. (The Courts

emphasis.)

and concluded:

The State therefore, is the sole owner of all natural resources, unless lawfully owned by

someone else.

[18] The court then referred to the provisions of the Minerals (Prospecting and

Mining) Act, No 33 of 1992 (hereinafter the Mining Act) and the Diamond Act, No 13 of


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1999 by virtue of which certain rights are transferred to holders of specific licences

(enumerated) then referred specifically to s.90(1) of the Minerals Act:

the holder of a mining licence shall be entitled

a) to carry on mining operations in the mining areas to which such licence relates for

such mineral or group of minerals as may be specified in such licence

b)

c)

d)

(i)

(ii) (iii) to remove from such mining area, for the purposes of sale or disposal, any

mineral or group of minerals owned or mined in the course of mining operations.

(iv) to sell or otherwise dispose of any such mineral or group of minerals.

The court concluded:

This means that a person or company to whom a mining licence was granted, would not

only be entitled to mine for minerals to which the licence relates, but may also sell such

mineral(s). A licencee thus would have the same entitlement to the (mined) mineral(s) as

the owner under common law.

The court thereafter referred to the evidence of Karel du Toit, which showed that

appellant was familiar with Namdebs mining policy (Exhibit E) a document governing

and explaining the possession and handling of rough or uncut diamonds within Diamond

Area No 1 (Section A), that Section D of the policy contained provisions about the

removal of property from the mining areas by employees exiting the mining area, that

such items are subjected to security examination in terms of the Diamond Act, and that

Section E of the policy under General Information provided:


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Any person within Namdebs Mining Licence Areas is required to be in possession of

(a) Restricted Area Permit and Namdebs Key Card.

[19] Lastly du Toits evidence was that appellant signed a declaration (Exhibit F) on

22.01.98 to say that he fully understood the contents of the mine policy. All this

evidence was not disputed by the appellant. As the court said, appellant thereafter was

appointed as an employee of Namdeb and authorised to enter the mining area which

was restricted and all persons exiting that area were subject to security examination.

The court concluded:

From the aforementioned I am of the view that the only reasonable inference form the

facts mentioned above was that Namdeb is the holder of a mining licence issued to it

under the Minerals Act and which entitles it to mine for diamonds within the restricted

mining area at Oranjemund. By virtue of such licence, Namdeb is the owner of all the

diamonds within that mining area for the duration of its licence.

[20] The force of the reasoning leading to that conclusion by the court a quo is

strengthened by the fact that Section E of the policy refers to any person within

Namdebs Mining Licence Area. I entirely agree that the inference drawn by the court a

quo from the facts and legal provisions which the court considered was prima facie

justified and, in the absence of any evidence by or on behalf of the appellant to gainsay

it, became the only reasonable inference to be drawn from them. Ms Sauls reference to

the operations of Namdeb contractors or their approved subcontractors in the area to

which the mining licence relates, does not avail the appellant. It is prima facie evident

from the Mining Act, the Mine policy (which has been handed up as an exhibit during


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the trial) and the other evidence that Namdeb controlled all mining operations for

diamonds in the licence area; that only Namdeb and those contractors who had been

authorised in writing (or their Namdeb-approved subcontractors) to do it on Namdebsbehalf, could mine for diamonds in that area. Ms Sauls does not suggest any other

equally probable or at least reasonably possible inference regarding ownership that

could be drawn from those facts.

[21] To the extent that the appellant contended in the court a quo that possession of

the diamonds had not been proved, I must point out that the appellant conceded on

appeal that possession had been proved beyond reasonable doubt. As I have remarked

earlier, his counsels contends that he should have been convicted of the unlawful

possession of unpolished diamonds in contravention of s. 30(11) of the Diamond Act.

The concession is undoubtedly correct, and the remarks of the Trial Judge on that

question, found in paragraphs [44]-[45] of the judgment bear it out. I also agree with hisconclusion in paragraph [46] of the judgment that appellant stole the 28 unpolished

diamonds, the property of Namdeb.

[22] Before concluding this part of my judgment it is necessary to refer to counsels

submission in paragraph 55 of her heads argument; I quote it in full hereunder:

55. The Honourable Court a quo was wrong in speculating when it tried to excuse,

what can only be described as the laxity of the State, as being most probably as

a result thereof that at no stage of the trial was the lawful ownership of the

diamonds in dispute. 38 The Court lost sight thereof that upon having pleaded not


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guilty to the charge (thereby placing all averments not admitted in dispute), there

was no additional need or duty on the accused to dispute that either Karel du Toit

or Namdeb either owned or possessed the diamonds, especially once counsel

for the defence had established the absence of possession or ownership on thepart of Du Toit or any other person at Namdeb 39. The accused had absolutely no

duty to assist the State in discharging its ultimate onus of proof, or to remind it to

close the gaps in its case.

[23] The evidence referred to in the above submission ran as follows:

Now Mr du Toit, lets turn back to what you were doing on the 18th

of January 2005. Onthe 18 th of January 2005 at Namdeb, were you at any time in control or tasked with the

safekeeping of twenty-eight unpolished diamonds with a mass of 61.91 carats and

valued at four hundred and thirty eight two hundred and twenty Namibian Dollars and

ninety-two cents (N$438 220.92)?---No, My Lord.

So, you were not in control or possession of such diamonds on that particular day?---Not

after it was detected that it was diamonds, after it was confirmed that it was diamonds, I

was not (in) control then.

So, if you were not in control nor safekeeping or possession of twenty-eight unpolished

diamonds that I have referred to, do you know any other official at Namdeb or a place at

Namdeb where such diamonds were kept on the 18 th of January 2005?--- No, I do not. I

cannot say where twenty-eight, those specific diamonds, if we refer to the diamonds in

question, were kept during that day until the time that we started the operation and it was

taken by or confiscated by Inspector (Indistinct).

My question Mr du Toit, refers to the time before you arrested the Accused person.---

No.


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The cross-examination by appellants counsel went on and on in the same vein. It is

clear, however, that counsels questions specifically related to events of 18 January

2005, even as regards the stealing of the diamonds. This led to State counsel remindingappellants counsel when the latter referred to the indictment (also in the same vein)

that:

the indictment its a legal document and what my learned friend is trying to put to my

witness is the stealing of diamonds before the Accused person was arrested. This was

already answered by my witness, stating that he did not even know that they were

diamonds.

[24] These passages demonstrate that Mr du Toit understood counsel to question

whether he, personally, had actual physical control on 18 January of the same

diamonds found in the possession of the appellant later that day. This questioning and

his responses are no rebuttal of the evidence that the diamonds came from Namdeb

Mining Licence Areas. The appellant, after this type of questioning, still had the duty to

rebut the evidence that du Toit as a security officer employed by Namdeb and tasked

with the duty to monitor that no person proceeds from the mining area through the

security gates with unpolished diamonds - was in control or possession (constructive, as

the court a quo found), of Namdebs property and that Namdeb owned the diamonds

not only on the 18th

January 2005 but at least since they had been won in the mining

area. As I have said before and as du Toit testified in connection with the mining policy

of Namdeb, the security officers, were on duty all the time, and not only on 18 January,


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and were duty bound to prevent theft of diamonds from Namdeb Mining Licence Areas .

I would, therefore, dismiss the appeal against conviction.

Sentence

[25] On count 1 appellant was sentenced as follows:

Count 1 N$50 000 or 3 years imprisonment plus 5 years imprisonment.

In paragraph [20] of the courts judgment on sentence the court remarked:

[20] The court has given serious consideration to the request to impose a fine, but it

seems to me that the gravity of the crime committed; the circumstances surrounding the

commission of (the) theft, as well as the other serious crimes; the high value of the

diamonds stolen, and the interest of society, by far outweigh your personal

circumstances. A sentence of deterrence, specific as well as general is called for and it

is incumbent upon this court today to send out a clear message to all potential criminals

of your type, that theft of unpolished diamonds carries the risk of a custodial sentence.

The court further remarked in paragraph [21] thereof:

[21] In determining what a suitable sentence will be and mindful of the principle of

uniformity and the guidelines set in similar cases, while at the same time bearing in mind

the accuseds particular circumstances, it seems appropriate to afford the accused the

opportunity of paying a fine, whereby the serving of a substantial part of the custodial

sentence can be averted.


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[26] The well-known instances when an appeal court may be entitled to interfere with

a sentence passed by a lower court were conveniently listed in S v Tjiho, 1991 NR 361

(HC) at 366A-B, namely:

(i) the trial court misdirected itself on the facts or on the law;

(ii) an irregularity which was material occurred during the sentencing proceedings;

(iii) the trial court failed to take into account material facts or over-emphasised the

importance of other facts;

(iv) the sentence imposed is startlingly inappropriate, induces a sense of shock and

there is a striking disparity between the sentence imposed by the trial court and

that which would have been imposed by a court of appeal.

[27] The court a quo s statement in paragraphs [20] and [21] were made after a

careful consideration and evaluation of all the factors that have to be taken into account

in exercising the courts discretion in sentencing an accused. I find the court a quos

reasoning or consideration of each factor unassailable and, certainly, that the following

general summation of it by counsel for the appellant is not justified:

81. When taking into account the totality of the Courts reasons and findings in the

imposition of sentence, one cannot escape the conclusion that the trial court misdirected

itself on the facts and on the law; and/or failed to take into account material facts and

over-emphasised the importance of other facts; and imposed a sentence which is

startlingly inappropriate, induces a sense of shock and that there is a striking disparitybetween the sentence imposed by the trial court and that which would have been

imposed by a court of appeal.

In my view the appeal against sentence must also fail.


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[28] In the result, I make the following order:

The appeal is dismissed in its entirety.

_______________________

MTAMBANENGWE, AJA

I concur.

____________________ MARITZ, JA

I concur.

____________________

STRYDOM, AJA


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Counsel for the Appellant: Ms D. Sauls

Instructed By: Metcalfe Legal Practitioners

Counsel for the Respondent: Mr O. S. Sibeya

Instructed By: Office of the Prosecutor-General

auala versus the state

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